莫高窟第431窟中的「乾基羅」和「茂持羅」 - 乾基羅、茂持羅與乘象入胎、夜半逾城圖像的對比分析研究=On the Images of Qianjiluo and Maochiluo in Mogao Cave 431 - A Comparative Study between Qianjiluo and Maochiluo and Images of the Great Conception and the Midnight Departure
On the upper niche of the south central pillar in Mogao cave 431 there are two wall paintings that used to be considered as depictions of the Great Conception and the Midnight Departure. Through a comparative study of the mural images in the paintings with other confirmed renditions of the Great Conception and the Midnight Departure in Mogao caves, and by examining Buddhist sutras and related documents, the author comes to the conclusion that these murals are not further versions of these Buddhist stories, but rather images of Qianjiluo and Maochiluo, the dream king described in the Pratyutpanna-buddha-sammukhāvasthita-samādhi Sūtra.
